


Dizzie Shippers

by VextPanda



Category: Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Genre: Multi, Shipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-27
Updated: 2014-04-27
Packaged: 2018-01-21 01:01:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1531775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VextPanda/pseuds/VextPanda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>We all know Fitz and Gigi ship Dizzie.  The question is: does Dr. Gardiner ship Dizzie?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dizzie Shippers

Madeline Gardner, PhD was resigned to slogging through the stack of mail on her desk. After spending almost a week in Seattle at a conference, she was playing catch up at work and that included sorting through snail mail, wondering if there would ever come a day when all business correspondence was electronic and only personal correspondence was written on paper.

Most of her mail was non-specific to her—conference brochures, headhunter inquiries, journals. There was a thank you note from an undergraduate student thanking her for a letter of recommendation and a letter notifying her that she had been nominated for a university teaching award. Both of these were gratifying, but they were not the one particular letter that she was on the look out for.

While away at the conference, she had received an email that would solve an immediate problem for one of her favorite graduate students. It was directed to her personally and did not seem to be a broadcast sort of email. It was notification of an unpaid internship that was unexpectedly and immediately available at Pemberley Digital headquarters in San Francisco. She had responded enthusiastically and requested that paperwork detailing the terms of the internship be sent to her office.

Sandwiched between two journals, she finally found the oversized envelope with Pemberley Digital on the return address. It was from a Mr. Ramsgate Fitzpatrick. Her mind registered the unusualness of the first name, briefly wondering if his friends actually called him “Ramsgate”. Hopefully, he had a nickname.

_Dear Dr. Gardiner,_

_Thank you for your prompt response to my email. Enclosed you will find information about Pemberley Digital and the array of opportunities that students can expect to have available to them while serving an internship with us._

_Please reply by email with your student’s name, proposed area of study and an attached resume so that our HR department can begin processing necessary paperwork. The non-disclosure agreement should be signed, dated and returned in the enclosed pre-printed envelope._

_If I can be of further service, please don’t hesitate to contact me._

_Sincerely, etc._

 *****

Fitz let slip a low ‘booyah’ when he opened the email from Dr. Gardiner and saw that the student's name was Elizabeth Bennet. He forwarded it to Gigi and stretched his laced fingers over his head, a huge grin breaking out from ear to ear.

Gigi read the forwarded email with a squealed "YES"!  

She email replied “told you my plan would work” with a smiley face emoji.  For good measure and because her happiness couldn't be contained, she then texted Fitz: YOU'RE THE BEST!!!!!! and included a fist bump emoji.

A few minutes later, she texted him again: Dinner and plotting at 6 p.m. tomorrow night?

*****

“It was a little bit of a gamble, but I admit that you were scmfght,” Fitz mumbled the last word intentionally. Gigi was so easy to provoke. With her raised eyebrows and expectant look, he enunciated “RIGHT”.

“Thank you.” She was nearly bursting with glee.

Successfully executing a plan to get Lizzie Bennet to Pemberley Digital deserved a celebration that included dinner and drinks. They felt smug. What’s more, they felt they deserved to feel smug. Their plan had succeeded despite numerous obstacles. Enormous obstacles like not knowing whether Lizzie had already made other internship arrangements or whether Dr. Gardiner would see an internship at PD as a good fit for one of her students, and if she did, which student she would send. The fact that Lizzie Bennet would be walking the halls of Pemberley Digital next week was next door to miraculous, all things considered.

“Okay, now back to plotting." Fitz was so on board with this ship.  He felt terrible about the part he played in sabotaging his friend's romantic aspirations. Anything he could do to salvage the ship was a top priority.  "So the eagle is on her way to headquarters. Check. But remember the tiger will be in LA all next week. Are you going to eat that?” referring to the last of the tapas.

She waved it towards him and frowned in thought. “Does he HAVE to be there all week?”

Wiping his mouth with a napkin, Fitz shrugged. “Don’t know. I’ll stop by Reynolds' desk tomorrow and see if Jennings or Garcia might be able to pinch hit.”

“Don’t be too obvious about it,” Gigi cautioned. Fitz found this hilarious. If anybody was going to be too obvious about their intentions, it would be her, not him.

Gigi cast his mirth filled face a reproving look.

“No worries. I’m a ninja.”

“Well let’s hope your stealthy reconnaissance game is better than your helpful wingman game.”

“Oooooh. I earned that burn,” he said with only a trace of chagrin. He was in it to win it now. He definitely was shipping Darcy and Lizzie every bit as hard as she was. 

“Another toast. To the eagle and the tiger finally being in the same zoo!” she proclaimed as she lifted her glass to his.

“And to forwarding the cause of letting an eagle and a tiger do together what they would naturally do together in the wild.” Gigi’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait. That was terrible.”

She nodded in agreement. “Understatement. It was _worse_ than terrible, but I think we both know what you meant.”

***** _one week earlier_ ******

Madeline Gardner, 40 something full professor, dynamo lecturer, author and unflaggingly supportive mentor to numerous mass communication graduate students, had her favorites. Over the duration of her career, she had developed nurturing relationships with several students that continued past their graduation. None of these former students were what she would call close friends, but they were definitely friends.

One such friend and former student, Hannah Bell, worked in the Bay Area for a non-profit environmental advocacy group. At a pre-dinner cocktail hour for conference attendees , Dr. Gardiner spotted Hannah standing alone with a glass of wine in her hand.  Having just read the unexpected email from Mr. Fitzpatrick, Pemberley Digital and Lizzie Bennet were weighing on her mind. The chance to intern at a cutting edge digital entertainment empire was almost too good to be true so, upon seeing Hannah, she decided to make some cautious inquiries.

“You added so much to the panel discussion on the intersection of government agencies and non-profits, Dr. Gardiner,” gushed Hannah as they hugged each other in greeting. “Reminded me why I thought I could make a difference.”

“You _always_ thought you could make a difference, Hannah. I had nothing to do with that,” she teased. “Please call me Madeline. You haven't been my student for the past four years." Hannah nodded. "I take it that you enjoy your work?”

Hannah nodded again.  “It can be frustrating at times, and San Francisco is crazy expensive, but it’s also beautiful and vibrant. The city, not the work. The work is tedious and then something really fulfilling happens, and I’m back to believing in it again.” Hannah was an idealist, committed to affecting change, but pragmatic enough not to be surprised by the inevitable setbacks and dead ends. She was bookish and procedural so her job’s dealings with the EPA were a natural fit for her talents.

“I know you usually work with government agencies, but do you ever have any occasion to work with people in the for-profit sector? Specifically, Pemberley Digital? I have a student that has been offered a last minute internship there, and I haven’t had time to research it yet.”

“Pemberley Digital? Oh, that’s wonderful! I haven’t worked with them directly, but one of my best friends and colleagues was working with them on web content and design for our group’s on-line presence and raved about the place. I mean, RAVED. She couldn’t say enough about the innovative and supportive culture of the workplace and its incredible facilities.” She took a sip of her wine and continued. “The founding family still owns the majority of the company. The CEO is from the Darcy family. It’s not  just an inherited position though. He’s a smart, aggressive young guy that is an effective leader with a strong vision. Your student is one lucky guy.”

“Lucky girl. The student is female,” Dr. Gardiner corrected absentmindedly. Her mind was whirling with the mention of the Darcy family. Madeline Gardiner recognized the Pemberley Digital name when she received the email but hadn’t connected it to the person in her favorite student’s twice weekly vlogs until that moment. Coming back to the present, “Do you know anything more about the CEO?”

Hannah shrugged, “He’s not married?”

Madeline raised her eyebrows.

Hannah blushed. “I’ve seen pictures of him, and he’s…”

Madeline smiled and nodded encouragement for her to go on.

“He’s…”

Madeline pleaded, “Please be frank, Hannah. I don’t want to send my student into a bad situation.”

“It’s not that. It’s not a bad situation. Pemberley is a dream situation. I don’t actually know William Darcy so I probably shouldn’t say anything about him. What my friend shared with me is just gossipy girl stuff. I think you can feel confident that he’s very professional and not the type of boss who takes advantage of interns at all.”

Madeline nodded patiently and leaned forward conspiratorially, “Let’s say that I was very interested in gossipy girl stuff—hypothetically speaking—what would I find interesting? And for the record, I don’t think you’re a gossip. I have some very real concerns for this particular student.”

Hannah hesitated, but then caught the look that passes between two women who are on the same wavelength. “My friend, who is even nerdier than I am so that you understand the measuring stick we’re working with, thought he was” she broke off without finishing the sentence.

“Good lord, Hannah, just say what you’re thinking,” Madeline joked and took a sip of her own wine.

“William Darcy is a bit of a mystery. He’s very smart, good-looking and fit, but he’s rarely seen in the company of a woman. At first, my friend thought that maybe he was gay, but from what PD employees said, that’s not the case." She took another sip of wine.  "So she was confused about why a handsome, young bachelor isn’t linked with women more often. Or any woman at all really. She found out that he occasionally brings a plus one to events, but he’s kind of a social hermit.” She took another sip of wine. Her audience was clearly interested in what she had to say so she became more speculative, adding “So no one really knows what kind of girl he likes. And believe me when I say my friend was alert to any and all clues. She kind of had a thing for him. She was only in a group meeting with him maybe three times. Four tops. She would never actually pursue him. My friend is not that type. Just enjoyed admiring from afar kind of thing.”

This fit with what little Madeline knew of William Darcy. Hannah was turning into a surprisingly good source of information so she followed up with “Did your friend give you any information about his personality or interactions in the workplace? Any particular difficulties in working with him?”

Hannah liked to be helpful, especially to her mentor bordering on idol, so she searched her mind for more insights. “He’s pretty quiet most of the time. Prefers to just observe.  The PD employees say that he becomes a different guy when he’s making a presentation because he’s polished, confident and even dynamic. But having a face to face conversation with him can be a chore because he is kind of intense. Or maybe my friend thought he was shy? I can’t remember which. Maybe it was both. He’s not the least bit flirtatious with the staff. My friend thought it was just her, but his employees confirmed that he’s not flirty with any of them.”

“What else do the PD employees have to say about him?” Madeline was privately amazed and slightly abashed at her own level of interest in this topic. The vlogs _were_ compelling though.

Hannah was starting to feel the effects of the wine. She looked over her shoulder as if worried that someone would overhear her and leaned forward and spoke more quietly, “They say he was crushed by his parents' deaths, is overprotective of his little sister who also works there, and is a wonderful, thoughtful, caring boss who really needs to get laid.”

Madeline couldn’t help but smile in response. “Oh, really?”

“Yes,” Hannah said, warming to her topic when she realized that Dr. Gardiner seemed genuinely interested.  “There are plenty of women who would..uh…volunteer, but he’s so wrapped up in his work that he doesn’t notice. Like I said, he’s known for being very professional. Or it might be the serious and shy thing. Maybe he notices and just doesn’t act on it.”

“Could be.  From what you have described, he seems like a very private person.  An outsider would never know whether he ever takes notice of a woman," Madeline warily conjectured.

Madeline cringed inwardly at her own reference to 'outsider'. If an outsider happened to be one of Lizzie's viewers, then they knew with absolute certainty that Darcy had taken an interest in a very specific soon-to-be intern. This  private, well-intentioned man _had_ acted upon his interest in a woman and been shot down in a very public way.  From watching the vlogs, she understood why Lizzie had rejected him, even if she couldn't condone the how.  The enormity of rejecting such a powerful, prideful man in such a humiliating way hit her forcefully, and she realized the implications of sending Lizzie into certain contact with him.  Lizzie would undoubtedly be professionally and personally tested by this assignment, but she was confident that her favorite student could handle it.

She swallowed the last sip of her wine. "You've been really helpful, Hannah. I think I can safely recommend to my student that she take the internship.” 

Hannah nodded. She would have said more now that she had a whole glass of wine in her, but they were being ushered into dinner and were seated at different tables.

 *******

Dr. Gardiner felt a little guilty when she watched Lizzie try to remember why the name Pemberley Digital seemed familiar. At least watching that video prepared her. She was expecting the email in which Lizzie tried to find an alternative to interning at Pemberley Digital. The reasons why this internship was both desirable and necessary to graduating on time were reviewed in her reply email. She invited Lizzie to make an appointment if she felt that she would like to discuss it further. Lizzie declined a meeting, and agreed to drop by the department secretary's office to sign the non-disclosure agreement the next day.

Lizzie did, however, have lunch with her supervisor and mentor the day before leaving for San Francisco. They discussed objectives for the internship, types of things she expected to include in her vlog and how the vlog would further her objectives. As her mentor, Dr. Gardiner was there to offer her encouragement and ideas while also managing her expectations. The expectations included those involving crossing paths with William Darcy.

“Are you worried about running into the CEO while you’re there?” she asked delicately.

Lizzie blushed. “I’m hoping to minimize it.”

“I’ve watched the vlogs, Lizzie.” At her look of surprise, she said, “I am supervising your thesis project, remember?”

Lizzie stammered, “Of course,” and tried to will away the heat in her face. “I’ve made some mistakes where he is concerned.  Judging without knowing the facts. Speaking too harshly. Posting the whole thing on YouTube to insure that he can easily be reminded of why he hates me.” More humbly, “I’ve tried to rectify some of the mistakes.”

“Oh? Have you talked to him?”

“No.” she said quickly and grimaced. "I'm wondering if he knows that I'll be interning at his company. I can't imagine that he would ever want to see or speak to me again." She was quiet for a moment. “I did include his side of the cave story in my videos though.”

Dr. Gardiner nodded in remembrance. Charlotte was the instigator, but Lizzie had presented Darcy’s side and offered left handed apologies a few other times.

When Lizzie didn’t say anything else, Dr. Gardiner gave her a few more details about the housesitting gig that had fallen into her lap and concluded with “Well, it looks like you’re ready to go.”

Lizzie nodded her thanks, and stood up to hug her mentor goodbye. As Dr. Gardiner hugged Lizzie, she whispered, “Make the most of this opportunity, Lizzie Bennet” and held her a few beats longer than a normal hug. 

Driving home, Lizzie wondered if there was some sort of hidden meaning behind her parting words of advice. She had said it with such fervor and used her full name. They had made plans to meet for dinner shortly after Lizzie started the internship so it wasn't as if they wouldn't be seeing each other soon. She shrugged off the thought and turned her mind to worrying about the logistics of getting to San Francisco, settling in at Dr. Gardiner’s friend’s house, physically locating Pemberley Digital, acquainting herself with a new workplace, and most importantly, avoiding its CEO. 


End file.
